How SOIL EVIDENCE

helped solve a

DOUBLE MURDER CASE

THE CRIME & THE EVIDENCE

September 2000. Oakbank, Adelaide Hills, South Australia.

Wife, mother and son reported missing.
Following day, mother's car found abandoned,Yorke Peninsula. Muddy and bloodstained
shovel among items recovered. Suspect arrested, Moonta. Refused to answer questions.
Where were the bodies? Impossible to search the whole area
from Oakbank to Moonta!

ENTER THE SCIENTIST

Clean working edges

Large angular
(not rounded)
quartz grains

Fine grained
yellowish pink
material of iron
oxides and clay

CSIRO soil scientist Dr Rob Fitzpatrick is

D
called to assist the investigation. Soil
Small white
material on the front and back of shovel
fragments of
kaolinite-rich
examined for clues to the location of the
material
Adelaide
Hills
bodies. Soil Clues found on the shovel:
Moonta
Clean working edges and smeared structure indicated use in a wet soil (A)
Oakbank
ADELAIDE
Yorke
Cemented soil stuck to the rear section at the back of the shovel blade indicated wetness
Peninsula
Soil appearance on the front of the shovel blade showed that it had been wet and sloppy
Soil was compacted in the handle housing on the back of the shovel, indicating that it had
been used to flatten soil
Back of

Large angular (not rounded) quartz grains were not typical of surface soils
shovel found
AUSTRALIA
in suspects
because they showed no signs of transportation and smoothing. Such grains
vehicle
are only found at depth (B)
Fine grained yellowish pink material had the appearance of being a mixture of
iron oxides and clay (C)
E
Small white fragments had the appearance of deep, sub-surface kaolinite-rich weathered zones
such as a mining area or quarry (D). Soil lump showing actual size of small white fragments (E)
Absence of plant organic material indicated the soil had come from a deeper layer
Front of
Low pH (acid) and low electrolyte concentrations (low salt levels).
shovel
found in
Dr Fitzpatrick believed that the soil came from an industrial gravel
vehicle
quarry, probably in an acidic/low salt region of the Adelaide Hills.
N

South
Australia

Replica shovel
with soil from the
crime scene showing
exaggerated sizes of
of white fragments
and quartz grains

CLOSING IN ON THE SITE

Soil and geological maps, together with associated evidence, led detectives and soil scientists to
investigate the Oakbank Quarry in the Adelaide Hills
Colour and structure of quarry materials resembled soils found on the shovel. Samples were collected
Back at the CSIRO lab, Dr Fitzpatrick with X-ray specialist Mark Raven compared samples from
the quarry and the shovel using X-ray diffraction techniques (see chart on right)
Composition of quartz, kaolinite, mica and talc in the samples were a match, just like fingerprints
Dr Fitzpatrick was convinced that the bodies would be located in the wet area of the quarry.
One detective returned daily believing the bodies may be uncovered by foxes.
Monday 9 October
Foxes exposed a human hand near a large pool of water Dr Fitzpatrick had pinpointed. A second
body was uncovered fifty metres away the following day.

Comparison of
X-ray diffraction
patterns from quarry
(red) and shovel (black)
proved to be an almost
perfect match

CASE SOLVED, suspect confessed and convicted

of murder without million dollar court case.

The successful use of CSIRO soil expertise in helping solve a double murder led to the formation
CAFSS
of the Centre for Australian Forensic Soil Science (CAFSS) in 2003 involving six core partners.
Since then, the centre has advised on over 30 criminal investigations and run national/international workshops.
Forensic Science SA

C S I RO

FLINDERS
UNIVERSITY

Department for
Administration and
Information
Services

White kaolinite-rich
weathered zones
Wet
area
P o s t e r d e s i g n a n d p r o d u c t i o n b y G r e g R i n d e r, A r r i s P t y L t d ( w w w . a r r i s . c o m . a u ) , A d e l a i d e , S o u t h A u s t r a l i a - A u g u s t 2 0 0 6